Greetings to all, and welcome to my lesson on removing excess tracking stuff from URLs! Whenever I encounter a link to a product that I might want to check out, I make sure it's CLEAN! As in right-click, copy link, paste into a text file or new email, and remove the extra junk!
***Please don't do this if you are using someone's affiliate link! They won't get paid from the transaction without their user-specific info on the URL!***
***Also, definitely don't do this to shroomery links! The stuff on those URLs needs to be there, it's part of how the forum works!***
This course is to show you how easy it is to remove that alpha-numeric nonsense that's at the end of most shared links to items on major websites. Let's begin with a simple example:
"I'd like to buy a red dog toy, and here's what I found on Amazon..."
https://www.amazon.com/Zanies-Lil-Yelper-Dog-Toys/dp/B00U1V9ANQ/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mSNLGTA0_yy-3k1u8y0lBHJFq2B53RJXtSKNPB8gTYwnS61VeL5LG1oaXLy4bThXjUwdBtstjHTUSLd0gS4dkvBCHH3kdpEZvTrq7fTjFnHsRI-vMgI5Rk8spBOuVj7-icN533Yk85hHd052NS6c7hP-ztlRn_UYsiCm4nqHI-8aKKbySeq7aXPjsI895zGSdNd-q9p_c1b9gXNRAmKwvJEKvZHN_u4yiV0aNye2mg6w_GGBjXhicSvZl6bnylWbI7Lbzy2BnOF021PWL4bmG2KNRia10gAzJv-yrpZiVJ8.QAEpl0sDS0IbnAWp4X-PjykMK8xvOtGnCkaolTKETE8&dib_tag=se&keywords=red+dog+toy&sr=8-3
WOW, that's a lot of gobbledygook! Whether you are linking an item you use in a tek, or you just want to text that link to your Auntie, there's no need to post a whole paragraph's worth of junk. In fact, everything at the end is just helping Amazon track you, your searches, location, browsing habits, buying history... maybe even the site where you clicked it. But have no fear, I can show you how easy it is to ditch all that!
Let's look at our example link - you see amazon.com / then the product name / then dp / then the item's unique ID / then garbage.
You can safely remove everything after the unique ID number, starting with ..."/ref=sr_1..." all the way to the end.
So now, if you want to post that adorable red dog toy you found, you can copy the URL from the browser address window, then paste it into a blank text file or new email draft. Then simply highlight everything from "/ref=..." to the end and delete it. What you're left with is the direct link to the item - no metadata for the giant corporation!
https://www.amazon.com/Zanies-Lil-Yelper-Dog-Toys/dp/B00U1V9ANQ is all you need in this example. You can test the link to be sure it works before sharing, and you can feel good knowing you've helped stick it to the man!
This will work on links from nearly any online retailer, but some have different formatting. I will list a few big ones here, but please post any sites I missed and I'll be happy to help figure it out!
ebay:
full link - https://www.ebay.com/itm/365038844306?_skw=red+dog+toy&itmmeta=01J8JB2Z27J5NPE61KGF82WS6R&hash=item54fe02b992:g:51oAAOSw-jZmqFL5&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKm1GQo0PMb5J5EZy5YIykKtHG%2BLYAG8wXZvdFCcITgmS2HI2f%2FuVqx7%2FxA0rPGMJLcny31j4LpD7Su%2BiknPvCH%2BISGxn9Sl03daqslV%2B5GZ156Swnx%2FXJeCalNm3cCRKee%2FjxvkM3aThJ8hJPoQWcfZBsf%2FhAQLCJntUDXNyHYCFGOKytvmbtI62RIpXY7UQN8MzMySwpzlYy6pLyixlUptzvyUe37nj1Zf2WO4ToEwvw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABlBMUKTxi8vEZA
you only need the ID number, remove everything starting at the ? - https://www.ebay.com/itm/365038844306
walmart.com:
full link - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-Plush-Dog-Toys-Red-Octopus-Medium-Size-12-inch/1965743079?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
you only need the ID number, remove everything starting at the ? - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-Plush-Dog-Toys-Red-Octopus-Medium-Size-12-inch/1965743079
Thanks for reading! Please share this post if you found it helpful. Mush love to all! 
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"For the powerful freedom-takers who rob justice from us all, that's why I keep my pistol loaded, powder, cap, and ball..."
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